Jump to a section
Efficient property management comes down to four areas: operations, resident experience, communications, and maintenance. Whether you're a property manager or an HOA board member, your job is to keep the property in top condition while keeping costs low.
Below, we share best practices in each of these four areas to help you make the most of your resources, reduce risk, and run your community more efficiently.
Key takeaways
- Efficient property management depends on four areas: operations, resident experience, communications, and maintenance.
- Clear policies and procedures help your team complete tasks the same way every time.
- Property management software that brings most of your management tasks into one place saves time, and staff training helps your team get more out of it.
- Easy maintenance requests, reliable package handling, and simple online payments improve the resident experience.
- SMS and voice broadcasts and digital bulletin boards keep residents informed during routine updates and emergencies.
- Scheduled preventive maintenance, a central equipment database, and digital inspections help you avoid costly repairs.
Efficient Property Management Starts with Operations
Efficient operations help you make the most of your resources and reduce risk. Start with these three best practices.
- Establish clear policies and procedures. Clear policies keep your operations consistent, so your team completes tasks in a standard, efficient way. Write policies for maintenance requests, resident complaints, rent or assessment collection, lease renewals, and more.
- Use the right technology to streamline operations. The right property management software automates tasks and saves your team time. It should bring nearly all of your management work into one place, from recordkeeping and administration to front desk and staff operations. Look for software you can configure to fit your property's needs.
- Invest in staff training. Training builds your staff's skills and helps them work more efficiently. Paired with the right property management software, a well-trained team can accomplish more while still providing an excellent resident experience.
It has so many features that we rely heavily on, storing so much information that we need to access very quickly. The fact that we are able to communicate and collaborate with the residents, management, maintenance and the front desk, all in one place is very helpful.
Resident Experience
Resident experience is another major driver of efficient property management. When you create a positive living environment and build strong relationships with residents, they form lasting connections with your staff and the property, and the whole community benefits.
- Make maintenance requests easy. A streamlined maintenance process leads to faster repairs that are easier to track. Residents get their issues addressed promptly, and your staff has all the information they need in one place. Let residents submit service requests through an online form on your website or through a resident app.
- Offer package management. Nobody wants to worry about missing or stolen packages. Make package tracking and delivery reliable for residents by offering package handling services or letting them pick up packages inside the building with a contactless system.
- Set up an easy payment process. An online payment portal where residents can see upcoming and past-due rent or assessment payments makes it easier for them to pay on time.
For more ideas, read our post on how to improve the resident experience.
Communications
Clear, timely communication with residents is another foundation of property management. It builds trust, increases satisfaction, and reduces complaints, and it makes your job easier. Here are two best practices.
- Use SMS broadcasting. A broadcasting service lets you send SMS text or voice messages to large groups of people at once, so everyone in your community stays informed. Use it to share updates on scheduled maintenance, communicate during emergencies, reach your staff, and announce community events.
- Use digital bulletin boards. Physical bulletin boards are giving way to digital bulletin boards. Use them to keep important information visible, post updates as things change, schedule announcements in advance, and more.
Maintenance
Efficient maintenance is the fourth component of successful property management. It helps reduce costs, improve resident satisfaction, protect property value, and support compliance with regulations. Reviews travel quickly online, and managers who keep up with maintenance are in a better position to protect their reputation and attract good residents.
- Schedule preventive maintenance in advance. Routine maintenance is hard to stay on top of, especially if you track service schedules or equipment inventory by hand. The right property management software lets you schedule recurring maintenance tasks at regular intervals and creates a new maintenance request each time a task comes due.
- Bring all your equipment information into one database. Instead of searching through filing cabinets and desk drawers, keep warranty information, service history, manuals, specs, and other equipment details a few clicks away. Property management software can store all of it in one place.
- Digitize the inspection process. Routine inspections are one of the most effective ways to prevent costly repairs and avoidable problems, but organizing and reviewing inspection reports takes time you may not have. With inspection software, staff complete inspections on a mobile device, add photos, and turn any item that needs follow-up into a maintenance request.
To see how this works in BuildingLink, explore the inspections module.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the four components of efficient property management?
Operations, resident experience, communications, and maintenance. Managing each one well helps you keep the property in top condition while keeping costs low.
How can property managers make operations more efficient?
Establish clear policies and procedures, use property management software that brings most of your management tasks into one place, and invest in staff training so your team can work more efficiently.
How does software make property maintenance more efficient?
It lets you schedule recurring preventive maintenance tasks, keep warranty information, service history, and other equipment details in one database, and complete inspections on a mobile device, with photos and follow-up maintenance requests.
What are the best ways to communicate with residents?
SMS broadcasting lets you send text or voice messages to large groups at once for maintenance updates, emergencies, and community events. Digital bulletin boards keep important information visible and let you schedule announcements in advance.
